Just pisses me off every time I think of it....If I want to eat lungs, the tyrants in DC should have no right to tell me I can't.Only once in the last 10 years or so have I found a local farmer brave enough to sell me some, and they do make a difference in haggis.

Abox:It's the importation of haggis that's banned right? Not like it's illegal to eat sheep lung.

Lamb lung is considered "inedible" by the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (the meat people), so it's illegal to use it in food that has to be inspected (i.e. anything you can buy at a store). There's nothing stopping you from buying lamb lung out the back door of a butcher shop or abattoir and making your own haggis, though it'd be illegal to sell.

The irony is I just got a call from my boss today, and she told me that on Saturday we are going to be serving haggis to a group of Navy boys (I work on a navy base), I do not know if I will be able to try it, but I might just!

BillArr:Just pisses me off every time I think of it....If I want to eat lungs, the tyrants in DC should have no right to tell me I can't.Only once in the last 10 years or so have I found a local farmer brave enough to sell me some, and they do make a difference in haggis.

What's the problem with the lung? That's the only thing that's holding it back isn't it? Is it something like mad cow disease where the organ gets infected and causes humans to die if eaten? I just don't understand what the issue is with the lung parts. Everything else seems pretty normal to me, although I really don't like liver too much, I guess if it's seasoned well enough I'd eat it but it's got a taste that just doesn't agree with my palate.

Lamb lung is considered "inedible" by the USDA's Food Safety Inspection Service (the meat people), so it's illegal to use it in food that has to be inspected (i.e. anything you can buy at a store). There's nothing stopping you from buying lamb lung out the back door of a butcher shop or abattoir and making your own haggis, though it'd be illegal to sell.

TheGreenMonkey:What's the problem with the lung? That's the only thing that's holding it back isn't it? Is it something like mad cow disease where the organ gets infected and causes humans to die if eaten? I just don't understand what the issue is with the lung parts. Everything else seems pretty normal to me, although I really don't like liver too much, I guess if it's seasoned well enough I'd eat it but it's got a taste that just doesn't agree with my palate.

I've had Haggis twice. The first time it was very tasty and peppery but a bit dry. The second time it less dry but a lot less flavorful. Both times were at Robbie Burns Night events in Canada. I'm not sure which experience was the most authentic, but I'd happily try it again to find out. Offal isn't awful at all.

TheGreenMonkey:What's the problem with the lung? That's the only thing that's holding it back isn't it? Is it something like mad cow disease where the organ gets infected and causes humans to die if eaten? I just don't understand what the issue is with the lung parts. Everything else seems pretty normal to me, although I really don't like liver too much, I guess if it's seasoned well enough I'd eat it but it's got a taste that just doesn't agree with my palate.

Seconded. The FDA has labeled sheep's lung inedible, yet people eat them without ill effect all the time. So, what's the justification for it being labeled "inedible" and banning it?

On top of that, plenty of Americans are happy to eat chitterlings, which are usually cleaned with a dilute solution of bleach in water before cooking and no matter how much you spice 'em up will still literally taste like shiat.

Don't act all grossed out by something you have limited experience with! As pointed out, it is illegal to sell much of the organ meat in the U.S.: Not illegal to consume it.

My father raised my sister and I on the offal. It was a boon to our family! It's expensive to run a farm but my father had a small head of cattle he raised and butchered. He sold the street-legal meat at local farmer's markets and used the profit to subsidize the farm itself. The illegal meat became the protein and fat of our daily diets. We didn't know any different and the nutritional value of these organs paired with the vegetables we grew, provided us with all that we needed. It is rude to publicly eschew what other people call dinner.

In Scotland they kept various non-meat/liver internal organs, jammed them into a stomach with some grains, and boiled it until it was pasty enough to no longer be recognized for what it was. It was the cheapest protein and fat available. Scotland was damn poor and this was a common staple at the time. Sheep have a lot less meat than cattle, so you use what is available.

I've had haggis in Scotland and in the States. Even heavily spiced you can tell how dodgy it was. In Scotland now it is kind of a joke - only the tourists eat it.

warm kitteh:Don't act all grossed out by something you have limited experience with! As pointed out, it is illegal to sell much of the organ meat in the U.S.: Not illegal to consume it.

My father raised my sister and I on the offal. It was a boon to our family! It's expensive to run a farm but my father had a small head of cattle he raised and butchered. He sold the street-legal meat at local farmer's markets and used the profit to subsidize the farm itself. The illegal meat became the protein and fat of our daily diets. We didn't know any different and the nutritional value of these organs paired with the vegetables we grew, provided us with all that we needed. It is rude to publicly eschew what other people call dinner.

It's horrible that anyone would eat offal, and it should be banned! Here, have some pink slime. It's good for you, the USDA says so!

warm kitteh:Don't act all grossed out by something you have limited experience with! As pointed out, it is illegal to sell much of the organ meat in the U.S.: Not illegal to consume it.

My father raised my sister and I on the offal. It was a boon to our family! It's expensive to run a farm but my father had a small head of cattle he raised and butchered. He sold the street-legal meat at local farmer's markets and used the profit to subsidize the farm itself. The illegal meat became the protein and fat of our daily diets. We didn't know any different and the nutritional value of these organs paired with the vegetables we grew, provided us with all that we needed. It is rude to publicly eschew what other people call dinner.

jnelsoninjax:The irony is I just got a call from my boss today, and she told me that on Saturday we are going to be serving haggis to a group of Navy boys (I work on a navy base), I do not know if I will be able to try it, but I might just!

You have to try it, just to know. This is, of course, coming from someone who's never had it.

THIS, not a fan of the whole GI tract in general except for casings, menudo, blech...

According to the article traditional andouille uses most of a pigs GI tract, and wikipedia backs that up. American andouille is my favorite sausage, not sure id want to try the traditional version, but anything is good if you spice and smoke it enough i guess